Raindrop Detection Module

Introduction

A raindrop sensor, or raindrop detection sensor, is used to detect whether it is raining and also the rainfall. It is widely used in the automatic wiper system, smart lighting system and sunroof system of automobiles.

Principle

Raindrop sensor is basically a board on which nickel is coated in the form of lines. It works on the principal of resistance. When there is no rain drop on board. Resistance is high so we gets high voltage according to V=IR. When rain drop present it reduces the resistance because water is conductor of electricity and presence of water connects nickel lines in parallel so reduced resistance and reduced voltage drop across it. The more intense the rainfall the lower the resistance.

Usage

Hardware components

• Arduino Uno R4 or R3 board * 1

• Raindrop Detection Module * 1

• Jumper Wires

Circuit Assembly

Code

Code explanation

1. Defining sensor pin Here, a constant integer named sensorPin is defined and assigned the value 7. This corresponds to the digital pin on the Arduino board where the raindrops detection sensor is connected.

const int sensorPin = 7;

2. Setting up the pin mode and initiating serial communication In the setup() function, two essential steps are performed. Firstly, pinMode() is used to set the sensorPin as an input, enabling us to read digital values from the raindrops sensor. Secondly, serial communication is initialized with a baud rate of 9600.

void setup() {
  pinMode(sensorPin, INPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

3. Reading the digital value and sending it to the serial monitor. The loop() function reads the digital value from the raindrops sensor using digitalRead(). This value (either HIGH or LOW) is printed to the Serial Monitor. The program then waits for 50 milliseconds before the next reading.

void loop() {
  Serial.println(digitalRead(sensorPin));
  delay(50);
}

Additional Ideas

• Add an LED indicator that lights up when rain is detected

• Connect a buzzer to the Arduino to sound an alert when rain is detected, which can act as an early warning system for events like picnics or outdoor activities.